Princess Mononoke
| Princess Mononoke | |
|---|---|
 Japanese theatrical release poster | |
| Japanese | もののけ姫 |
| Hepburn | Mononoke-hime |
| Directed by | Hayao Miyazaki |
| Written by | Hayao Miyazaki |
| Produced by | Toshio Suzuki |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Atsushi Okui |
| Edited by | Takeshi Seyama |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 133 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | |
| Box office | $169.7 million[1] |
Princess Mononoke (Japanese: もののけ姫, Hepburn: Mononoke-hime) is a 1997 Japanese epic fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu, and distributed by Toho. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijo, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori and Hisaya Morishige.
Princess Mononoke is set in the late Muromachi period of Japan (approximately 1336 to 1573 CE), but it includes fantasy elements. The story follows a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, and his involvement in a struggle between the gods of a forest and the humans who consume its resources. The term Mononoke (物の怪), or もののけ, is not a name, but a Japanese word for supernatural, shape-shifting beings that possess people and cause suffering, disease, or death.
The film was released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999. It was a critical and commercial blockbuster, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japan of 1997, and also held Japan's box office record for domestic films until 2001's Spirited Away, another Miyazaki film. It was dubbed into English with a script by Neil Gaiman, and initially distributed in North America by Miramax, where it sold well on DVD and video, despite a poor box office performance; however, it greatly increased Ghibli's popularity and influence outside Japan.
Plot[]
In Muromachi Japan, an Emishi village is attacked by a boar-shaped demon. The last Emishi prince, Ashitaka, kills it before it reaches the village, but it manages to grasp his arm and curse him before its death. The curse grants him some superhuman strength combined with great pain, and will eventually spread through his body and kill him. The villagers discover that the demon was a boar god, corrupted by an iron ball lodged in his body. The village's wise woman tells Ashitaka that he may find a cure in the western lands Nago came from, and that he cannot return to his homeland.
Heading west, Ashitaka meets Jigo, an opportunist posing as a monk, who tells Ashitaka he may find help from the Great Forest Spirit, a deer-like animal god by day and a giant Night Walker by night. Nearby, men herd oxen to their home of Iron Town, led by Lady Eboshi, and repel an attack by a wolf pack led by the wolf goddess Moro. Riding one of the wolves is San, a human girl. A brief melee ensues with Lady Eboshi wounding Moro, and a few men being thrown over the cliff's edge. Down below, Ashitaka encounters Moro, San and the wolves; he asks about the Forest Spirit but is rebuffed. He then manages to rescue two of the men fallen from the cliff and transports them back through the forest, where in the distance he sees for the first time the Great Forest Spirit. As he and the Spirit spot each other his arm reacts violently before the Spirit moves on. Soon after, Ashitaka and the survivors arrive at Iron Town where he's greeted with fascination. Ashitaka learns that Eboshi built the town by clearcutting forests to produce iron, leading to conflicts with Asano, a local daimyō, and a giant boar god named Nago. Iron Town is a refuge for outcasts and lepers employed to manufacture iron and firearms; one of the same that wounded Nago. Eboshi explains that San, Princess Mononoke, was raised by the wolves and resents humankind. She admits she shot Nago, incidentally turning him into the demon that attacked Ashitaka.
At the same moment, San infiltrates Iron Town to kill Eboshi. Ashitaka intervenes and quickly subdues Eboshi and San while they're locked in combat. Amidst the hysteria, he's shot by a villager but the curse gives him strength to carry San out of the village. San awakens and prepares to kill the weakened Ashitaka, but hesitates when he tells her she's beautiful. She decides to trust him after the Forest Spirit heals his bullet wound that night. The next day a boar clan, led by the blind god Okkoto, plans to attack Iron Town to save the forest. Eboshi sets out to kill the Forest Spirit with Jigo, working for the government, and intends to give the god's head to the Emperor in return for protection from Lord Asano.
Ashitaka recovers and finds Iron Town besieged by Asano's samurai. The boar clan has been annihilated in battle, and Okkoto is badly wounded. Jigo's men then trick Okkoto into leading them to the Forest Spirit. San tries to stop Okkoto but is swept up as his pain corrupts him into a demon. As everyone clashes at the pool of the Forest Spirit, Ashitaka saves San while the Forest Spirit kills Moro and Okkoto. As it begins to transform into the Night Walker, Eboshi decapitates it. Jigo steals the head, while the Forest Spirit's body bleeds ooze that spreads over the land and kills anything it touches. The forest and kodama begin to die; Moro's head comes alive and bites off Eboshi's right arm, but she survives.
After Iron Town is evacuated, Ashitaka and San pursue Jigo and retrieve the head, returning it to the Forest Spirit. The Spirit dies but its form washes over the land, healing it and lifting Ashitaka's curse. Ashitaka stays to help rebuild Iron Town, but promises San he will visit her in the forest. Eboshi vows to build a better town. The forest begins to grow, as one kodama emerges within the forest.
Cast and characters[]
- Yōji Matsuda voices Ashitaka (アシタカ), the last prince of the Emishi tribe whose traveling companion is Yakul (ヤックル, Yakkuru), a red elk (アカシシ, Akashishi), a non-existent species of elk that Miyazaki created for the film. Novelist Ali Shaw has described Yakul as being more similar to a red Lechwe than an elk.[2] Miyazaki called Ashitaka a "melancholic boy who has a fate" and stated that Ashitaka's curse "is similar to the lives of people [at the time]".[3] Ashitaka's English voice actor Billy Crudup stated that he liked Ashitaka as "an unexpected hero. He's not your usual wild, brave guy. He's really just a young, earnest man who's trying to lead a valuable life and protect his village."[4]
- Yuriko Ishida voices San (サン), a young woman who was raised by the wolves and feels hatred for humans, but eventually comes to care for Ashitaka. In the English version, San is voiced by Claire Danes.
- Ishida also voices Kaya (カヤ), Ashitaka's bride-elect who breaks the rules of the village to gift him her dagger to remember her by.[5] Tara Strong provides her voice in the English version.
- Yūko Tanaka provides the voice of Lady Eboshi (エボシ御前, Eboshi Gozen), the ruler of Irontown who continually clears the forest. Miyazaki stated that Eboshi was supposed to have a traumatic past, although it is not specifically mentioned in the film.[3] Miyazaki said that Eboshi has a strong and secure personality, evident in the fact that she let Ashitaka move freely through the settlement unescorted, despite his unclear motives.[citation needed] He also said that Eboshi does not acknowledge the Emperor's authority in Irontown, a revolutionary view for the time, and displays an atypical attitude for a woman of that era in that she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself or those around her for her dreams.[3][failed verification] Miyazaki also said that Eboshi resembles a shirabyōshi.[6] Eboshi's English voice actress Minnie Driver stated that she was interested in "the challenge of playing [a] woman who supports industry and represents the interests of man, in terms of achievement and greed."[7] Driver viewed Eboshi as "a warrior, an innovator and a protector."[8]
- Kaoru Kobayashi provides the voice of Jiko-bō (ジコ坊, called "Jigo" in the English version), a monk and mercenary who befriends Ashitaka on his journey to the west. Miyazaki was unsure whether to make Jiko-bō a government spy, a ninja, a member of a religious group or "a very good guy." He eventually decided to give him elements of the above groups.[3] In the English version, Jigo is voiced by Billy Bob Thornton.
- Masahiko Nishimura voices Kohroku (甲六, Kōroku), an ox driver; John DeMita voices Kohroku in the English version. Miyazaki wrote Kohroku to be "an ordinary guy [who] didn't do anything heroic, right to the end", something he stated was contrary to films he'd made up to that point.[3]
- Tsunehiko Kamijō provides the voice of Gonza (ゴンザ), Eboshi's bodyguard; he is voiced by John DiMaggio in the English version.
- Akihiro Miwa voices Moro (モロの君, Moro no Kimi), a giant wolf god and San's adopted mother; Gillian Anderson provides her voice in the English version.
- Mitsuko Mori provides the voice of Hii-sama (ヒイ様), the wise woman of Ashitaka's village. In the English version, Hii-sama is voiced by Debi Derryberry.
- Hisaya Morishige provides the voice of Okkoto-nushi (乙事主, called "Okkoto" in the English version), a blind boar god. In the English version, Okkoto is voiced by Keith David, who also voices the narrator in the film's opening sequence.
The cast also includes: Akira Nagoya as the cattleman leader (牛飼いの長, Ushigai no Naga); Kimihiro Reizei as a Jibashiri (ジバシリ); Tetsu Watanabe as a mountain wolf (山犬, Yamainu); Makoto Sato as Nago (ナゴの守, Nago no Mori), a wild boar turned into a demon who curses Ashitaka when he attacks the Emishi village, voiced by John DiMaggio in the English version; and Sumi Shimamoto as Toki (トキ), Kohroku's wife, a former prostitute, and the leader of Eboshi's women, voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith in the English version.
Production[]
In the late 1970s, Miyazaki drew sketches of a film about a princess living in the woods with a beast.[9] Miyazaki began writing the film's plotline and drew the initial storyboards for the film in August 1994.[10][11] He had difficulties adapting his early ideas and visualisations, because elements had already been used in My Neighbor Totoro and because of societal changes since the creation of the original sketches and image boards. This writer's block prompted him to accept a request for the creation of the On Your Mark promotional music video for the Chage and Aska song of the same title. According to Toshio Suzuki, the diversion allowed Miyazaki to return for a fresh start on the creation of Princess Mononoke. In April 1995, supervising animator Masashi Ando devised the character designs from Miyazaki's storyboard. In May 1995, Miyazaki drew the initial storyboards. That same month, Miyazaki and Ando went to the ancient forests of Yakushima, of Kyushu, an inspiration for the landscape of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and the mountains of Shirakami-Sanchi in northern Honshu for location scouting along with a group of art directors, background artists and digital animators for three days.[10] Animation production commenced in July 1995.[11] Miyazaki personally oversaw each of the 144,000 cels in the film,[12][13] and is estimated to have retouched parts of 80,000 of them.[14] The final storyboards of the film's ending were finished only months before the Japanese premiere date.[15]
Inspired by John Ford, an Irish-American director best known for his Westerns, Miyazaki created Irontown as a "tight-knit frontier town" and populated it with "characters from outcast groups and oppressed minorities who rarely, if ever, appear in Japanese films." He made the characters "yearning, ambitious and tough."[16] Miyazaki did not want to create an accurate history of Medieval Japan, and wanted to "portray the very beginnings of the seemingly insoluble conflict between the natural world and modern industrial civilization."[17] The landscapes appearing in the film were inspired by Yakushima.[18] Despite being set during the Muromachi period, the actual time period of Princess Mononoke depicts a "symbolic neverwhen clash of three proto-Japanese races (the Jomon, Yamato and Emishi)."[19]
Princess Mononoke was produced with an estimated budget of ¥2.35 billion (approximately US$23.5 million).[20][21][22][better source needed] It was mostly hand-drawn, but incorporates some use of computer animation in approximately ten percent of the film.[23] The computer animated parts are designed to blend in and support the traditional cel animation, and are mainly used in images consisting of a mixture of computer generated graphics and traditional drawing. A further 10 minutes uses inked-and-painted, a technique used in all subsequent Studio Ghibli films. Most of the film is colored with traditional paint, based on the color schemes designed by Miyazaki and Michiyo Yasuda. However, producers agreed on the installation of computers to successfully complete the film prior to the Japanese premiere date.[15] Telecom Animation Film Company and Oh! Production helped animate the film. Toei Animation and DR Movie helped with the painting process.[citation needed]
Two titles were originally considered for the film. One, ultimately chosen, has been translated into English as Princess Mononoke. The other title can be translated into English as The Legend of Ashitaka (アシタカ